That's great to see the progress. And some more news.....

 

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019

Cleveland's first Modernist tower to be remodeled

 

As owner Optima Management Group describes their property, 55 Public Square is a "Class B office building in a Class A location."

That location is about to get even valuable with a planned $73.6 million remodeling of the former headquarters of The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., now a part of First Energy. When the 24-story office building opened in 1958, it was Cleveland's first glass curtain wall skyscraper.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2019/11/clevelands-first-modernist-tower-to-be.html

 

 

37 minutes ago, KJP said:

That's great to see the progress. And some more news.....

 

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019

Cleveland's first Modernist tower to be remodeled

 

As owner Optima Management Group describes their property, 55 Public Square is a "Class B office building in a Class A location."

That location is about to get even valuable with a planned $73.6 million remodeling of the former headquarters of The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., now a part of First Energy. When the 24-story office building opened in 1958, it was Cleveland's first glass curtain wall skyscraper.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2019/11/clevelands-first-modernist-tower-to-be.html

 

 

Great news @KJP! Hopefully the exterior of the building doesn’t change too much. I’ve always though it was a beautiful example of the style.

1 minute ago, LlamaLawyer said:

Great news @KJP! Hopefully the exterior of the building doesn’t change too much. I’ve always though it was a beautiful example of the style.

 

The exterior appearance cannot change if the historic tax credits are approved.

1 hour ago, KJP said:

 

The exterior appearance cannot change if the historic tax credits are approved.

New, different appearing glass shouldn’t affect the tax credit. I’m sure the existing panes aren’t efficient at all. 

5 hours ago, marty15 said:

New, different appearing glass shouldn’t affect the tax credit. I’m sure the existing panes aren’t efficient at all. 

 

Oh, I have no doubts they will replace the glass. But I thought the state doesn't approve any improvements that would change the physical appearance of a building that receives historic tax credits? 

9 hours ago, KJP said:

That's great to see the progress. And some more news.....

 

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019

Cleveland's first Modernist tower to be remodeled

 

As owner Optima Management Group describes their property, 55 Public Square is a "Class B office building in a Class A location."

That location is about to get even valuable with a planned $73.6 million remodeling of the former headquarters of The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., now a part of First Energy. When the 24-story office building opened in 1958, it was Cleveland's first glass curtain wall skyscraper.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2019/11/clevelands-first-modernist-tower-to-be.html

 

 

 

I’m very happy this is being renovated, but it does bother me that the funding is overwhelmingly coming from money stolen from the people of Ukraine. 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2019/04/ukrainian-oligarch-with-ties-to-downtown-cleveland-real-estate-under-fbi-investigation.html?outputType=amp

 

59 minutes ago, KJP said:

 

Oh, I have no doubts they will replace the glass. But I thought the state doesn't approve any improvements that would change the physical appearance of a building that receives historic tax credits? 

 

The Midtown at 3101 Euclid is going through the same process with tax credits. Both buildings were constructed at the same time. It would be interesting to compare to two projects to see if they encounter similar successes and difficulties once both are completed.

16 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

 

I’m very happy this is being renovated, but it does bother me that the funding is overwhelmingly coming from money stolen from the people of Ukraine. 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2019/04/ukrainian-oligarch-with-ties-to-downtown-cleveland-real-estate-under-fbi-investigation.html?outputType=amp

 

Unfortunately that has been the trend, with foreign oligarchs and foreign nationals investing heavily in US real estate and various business ventures. It does have the tendency to raise concerns about money laundering, hence the investigation above.

Great news about 55 Public Square! I’m always impressed with the journalistic work of KJP- thank you! Just referring to the appearance of the tower (having not been inside it) I think it has aged very well stylistically and looks young for its age. Just fantastic to see the continued investment and energy downtown. 

 

11 hours ago, KJP said:

That's great to see the progress. And some more news.....

 

 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019

Cleveland's first Modernist tower to be remodeled

 

As owner Optima Management Group describes their property, 55 Public Square is a "Class B office building in a Class A location."

That location is about to get even valuable with a planned $73.6 million remodeling of the former headquarters of The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., now a part of First Energy. When the 24-story office building opened in 1958, it was Cleveland's first glass curtain wall skyscraper.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2019/11/clevelands-first-modernist-tower-to-be.html

 

 

 

 

I share in the sentiment of other forum member's with regards to 'The Illuminating Co. Building' at 55 Public Square. I have also thought that this building has aged quite gracefully over the past 61 years.

 

I love the original glass curtain exterior and my hope is that it can be emulated with energy efficient glass that doesn't drastically alter it's 1950s era look and appeal.

 

I would've personally loved to see this converted to apartments or even condominiums for purchase.

Edited November 14, 20195 yr by John D. Baumgardner

Has anything replaced John Q's?  That was a great steakhouse with great cocktails.

38 minutes ago, John D. Baumgardner said:

I love the original glass curtain exterior and my hope is that it can be emulated with energy efficient glass that doesn't drastically alter it's 1950s era look and appeal.

 

It's nice to see the Terminal Tower reflection in the glass.  

I’ve occasionally heard this building compared to the Lever House in NYC which was beautifully restored many years ago. Some lighter glass would brighten up 55 Public Square. I think it’s a great building, I just wish they would do something about that awful parking garage/surface lot combo Behind it. 

I preferred the original "55" lighting but hopefully the restoration does the building justice.

 

22 minutes ago, Frmr CLEder said:

Has anything replaced John Q's?  That was a great steakhouse with great cocktails.

 

Nope. It's been empty for six years now.

2 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

 

I’m very happy this is being renovated, but it does bother me that the funding is overwhelmingly coming from money stolen from the people of Ukraine. 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2019/04/ukrainian-oligarch-with-ties-to-downtown-cleveland-real-estate-under-fbi-investigation.html?outputType=amp

 

 

Vladinhood

4 hours ago, MayDay said:

I preferred the original "55" lighting but hopefully the restoration does the building justice.

 

The Feds did a nice (but very expensive) redo of the Federal Bldg. This could turn out to be another good project but I do like the "55" on top.

9 hours ago, Frmr CLEder said:

Has anything replaced John Q's?  That was a great steakhouse with great cocktails.

 

8 hours ago, KJP said:

 

Nope. It's been empty for six years now.

 

I was just thinking about John Qs.  It was the place to be "seen" back in the day.  I love that place.

Two pics on a sunny day

 

Edited November 16, 20195 yr by KJP

^Nice reflection of Terminal Tower.

 

Hopefully SW doesn’t build over three stories on the Jacobs lot and block that beautiful view. ?

I always thought that 55 PS resembled the tower of the UN building in NYC. They were completed 6 years apart in the 50s.

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/CRLRL9C3EMaxd8mD7

Edited November 17, 20195 yr by Frmr CLEder

2 hours ago, Frmr CLEder said:

I always thought that 55 PS resembled the tower of the UN building in NYC. They were completed 6 years apart in the 50s.

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/CRLRL9C3EMaxd8mD7

 

They are very similar and timeless.

1 hour ago, MyTwoSense said:

 

They are very similar and timeless.

Yeah, the facade just looks tired and worn. They could replace all the vision glass and spandrel glass and mullions with the exact same products they used in the 50s and it would look 1000% fresher and new actually.

I wonder how much they can modify the appearance given their financing structure? Will it have to look exactly the same or could they make it look more like Ernst and Young or the Celebreeze building's new protective cover?

Edited November 17, 20195 yr by Mov2Ohio

Not the type of news you want to hear. https://fox8.com/news/fbi-agents-raid-offices-of-owner-of-several-high-rises-in-downtown-cleveland/

4 hours ago, simplythis said:

Not the type of news you want to hear. https://fox8.com/news/fbi-agents-raid-offices-of-owner-of-several-high-rises-in-downtown-cleveland/

 

I disagree. I think it's potentially great news. If Optima et al are found guilty, the court will likely seize 55 Public Square and eventually sell it at auction, probably below market price. That would free up more capital by the buyer for renovations. The only downside is that it will take a long time. But at least there may finally be a way for this building to get thoroughly renovated. Optima was proposing merely a partial, half-a$$ed renovation. 

If a renovation of 55 Public Square is done on the very high level of projects like The May and Euclid Grand - factoring in a presumably iconic SW HQ Tower, and Cleveland arguably will have one of the country's most attractive public squares.  ( We'll work on those barriers..) 

10 hours ago, KJP said:

I disagree. I think it's potentially great news. If Optima et al are found guilty, the court will likely seize 55 Public Square and eventually sell it at auction, probably below market price. That would free up more capital by the buyer for renovations. The only downside is that it will take a long time. But at least there may finally be a way for this building to get thoroughly renovated. Optima was proposing merely a partial, half-a$$ed renovation. 

Interesting development @KJP. We had previously discussed foreign investors and developers in Miami, moving into Cleveland.

Edited August 5, 20204 yr by Frmr CLEder

I'm not sure what occured here in MIA, but will investigate.

 

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2020/08/04/fbi-raids-miami-office-during-probe-linked-to-billionaires-alleged-optima-schemes/

Edited August 5, 20204 yr by Frmr CLEder

 

3 hours ago, KJP said:

 

This nugget caught my eye: 

“Public records show that the collateral for the 55 Public Square loan includes not only the building and its garage but also close to an acre of land at East 12th Street and St. Clair Avenue, immediately east of Optima's One Cleveland Center office complex.“
 

That’s a big lot in a great location near the East 13th routing proposal of the downtown loop we’ve been discussing. 
 

It’ll be good when we get Optima completely out of town. 

 

That would be great if K&D purchased the property. I know they tried a couple of years ago

and walked away from the deal as an unfeasible project at the price they were negotiating.

They most likely will possibly get a lot cheaper a couple of years later with all of the problems that

Optima Ventures is having.

I hope if it does end up going to K&D that they do a proper restoration... this thing needs a TON of work. Like a full glass curtain replacement... not to mention that AWFUL parking structure / surface lot in the back and the empty John Q's. It could be a very unique property but it needs someone who is willing to put in the work.  I have seen the building compared to NYC's Lever House, which was fully restored in the 90's with a new glass curtain. It would be nice to see that level of investment here. 

I worked in that building 15 years ago. It wasn't great back then even but John Qs was still open and was a great amenity. The parking garage was rough back then.

  

I'd have to think the southern corner where John Q's was could be made into more pedestrian-friendly, street-facing retail space.

 

 

I assume the John Q building was already there and 55 Public Square was built over it, correct?

 

Edited December 4, 20204 yr by skiwest

I agree with @mrclifton88that this could be a great building, as long as the developer puts the work and money in. It’s a great example of the International Style and I’d love to see the interior respectfully restored too. I’ve only been in it once, but it felt like stepping onto the set of Mad Men season one. 

I'll never forget my first time noticing 55 Public Square, or more accurately my subsequent observations . 

Based on the weather outside that first day, I thought it was temperature reading! 

I was confused that it never changed, which made me wonder if it was broken.

 

 

Edited December 4, 20204 yr by ExPatClevGuy

3 hours ago, skiwest said:

I assume the John Q building was already there and 55 Public Square was built over it, correct?

 

 

They are part of the same structure, built simultaneously.

One of my favorite Modern buildings in Cleveland.  Hope they tear down that garage and start over.

28 minutes ago, X said:

One of my favorite Modern buildings in Cleveland.  Hope they tear down that garage and start over.

What was once on the corner of West 3rd and St Clair that they had to build the garage around? That lot is so small, I can’t even think of anything. Gas station?

On 12/4/2020 at 5:32 PM, Growth Mindset said:

What was once on the corner of West 3rd and St Clair that they had to build the garage around? That lot is so small, I can’t even think of anything. Gas station?

It was a post Civil War era hotel called Hawley House. In its final days it became a flophouse.

Edited February 17, 20214 yr by Barneyboy

yeah sounds like this is good news in the long run.

 

the base is freakin god awful all the way around, i had forgotten about that or put it out of mind lol, that all needs completely redone and modernized.

 

i like the cladding above tho, nice mad men era look, but yeah that will probably, well definitely, need redone to modernize the building above. 

 

this will be a really nice project when it can happen -- and it will happen once its pried out of optima's dead hands, of that i am sure.

The Federal government seeks to seize 55 Public Square from Optima.

 

“ They purchased hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate and businesses across the country, including the properties subject to forfeiture: the office tower known as 55 Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio, the Louisville office tower known as PNC Plaza, and the Dallas office park known as the former CompuCom Headquarters.”

 

 

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-seeks-forfeiture-third-commercial-property-purchased-funds-misappropriated

Edited December 30, 20204 yr by marty15

DOJ files to seize property. https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/whats-going-on-with/department-of-justice-files-to-seize-office-building-off-public-square-as-part-of-money-laundering-scheme

K&D confirmed yesterday that it still intends to buy 55 Public Square, assuming they can get a clean title. They are talking to the Justice Department to ensure the clean title. I consider this good news. 

“Developer plans to buy 55 Public Square as Justice Department wants to seize it over money-laundering accusations”
 

https://www.cleveland.com/realestate-news/2021/01/developer-plans-to-buy-55-public-square-as-justice-department-wants-to-seize-it-over-money-laundering-accusations.html

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A prominent developer who owns several downtown Cleveland buildings plans to buy 55 Public Square, even as the Justice Department seeks to seize it amid accusations that an organization controlled by a Ukrainian oligarch bought it with laundered money.

Doug Price of the Willoughby-based K&D Group confirmed that he still plans to purchase the 22-story office building, owned by Optima Ventures of Miami. Optima and K&D, which also owns Terminal Tower and The Halle Building, among others, entered a contract on Dec. 22 for K&D to buy the building for $17 million.

 

27 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

K&D confirmed yesterday that it still intends to buy 55 Public Square, assuming they can get a clean title. They are talking to the Justice Department to ensure the clean title. I consider this good news. 

“Developer plans to buy 55 Public Square as Justice Department wants to seize it over money-laundering accusations”
 

https://www.cleveland.com/realestate-news/2021/01/developer-plans-to-buy-55-public-square-as-justice-department-wants-to-seize-it-over-money-laundering-accusations.html

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A prominent developer who owns several downtown Cleveland buildings plans to buy 55 Public Square, even as the Justice Department seeks to seize it amid accusations that an organization controlled by a Ukrainian oligarch bought it with laundered money.

Doug Price of the Willoughby-based K&D Group confirmed that he still plans to purchase the 22-story office building, owned by Optima Ventures of Miami. Optima and K&D, which also owns Terminal Tower and The Halle Building, among others, entered a contract on Dec. 22 for K&D to buy the building for $17 million.

 

 

Now that's a scoop I would have loved to get!

Looks like this is official.. with partial conversion to apartments.

 

https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/kd-buys-55-public-square-office-tower-plans-partial-conversion-apartments

9 minutes ago, RE Developer In Training said:

Looks like this is official.. with partial conversion to apartments.

 

https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/kd-buys-55-public-square-office-tower-plans-partial-conversion-apartments

Came here to post this, K&D has downtown cornered haha

This is awesome news!